More Scouting & Training
Quite a few more sessions in the books for me and my pack over the last two weeks, and we've had mostly good results. We've been checking out some of our old haunts and finding grouse and woodcock most mornings, at least until the sun rises and conditions get too hot for the dogs.
The picture above is of Bode, on a woodcock point this morning, one of five that we encountered, along with five grouse. Bode's other shining moment was a nice point on a brood of three of those five grouse, and they might've offered a good opportunity for a hunter had the woods not been so thick. It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, though. He bumped the other two single grouse and a couple of the woodcock for good measure - it's a good thing we have a few weeks left to sharpen up.
The picture above is of Bode, on a woodcock point this morning, one of five that we encountered, along with five grouse. Bode's other shining moment was a nice point on a brood of three of those five grouse, and they might've offered a good opportunity for a hunter had the woods not been so thick. It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, though. He bumped the other two single grouse and a couple of the woodcock for good measure - it's a good thing we have a few weeks left to sharpen up.
Rosie locks down a woodcock on one of our sessions two weeks ago. She seems equally comfortable handling woodcock or grouse, so we should have another good season ahead following her nose through the grouse woods.
While Rosie didn't find any birds today, she did have a marvelous sticking point on a grouse a couple of mornings ago in New Hampshire. It held well, and thundered away like a rocket, only a few feet off the ground, just staying over the top of the vegetation. It would have offered a fleeting chance during the season.
Monty has performed really well for his eleven years. While he'll get limited action this fall, I think he's going to be great, using all of his experience to outwit the grouse. He had a nice point on a brood of four a couple of mornings ago, and pointed one more for good measure on the way back to the truck in our thirty minute session.
Monty has performed really well for his eleven years. While he'll get limited action this fall, I think he's going to be great, using all of his experience to outwit the grouse. He had a nice point on a brood of four a couple of mornings ago, and pointed one more for good measure on the way back to the truck in our thirty minute session.
We seem to be finding the grouse in many of the areas that we'll be seeing them a month or two from now, but the woodcock are a different story. Unfortunately, our drought conditions persist here in northern New Hampshire and Vermont, and it seems that the timberdoodle population is nearer to stream beds and wet spots than usual. The other upland areas where we usually see them have been dry, literally. All of the woodcock that we found today were in low lying areas with moisture, and most of the upland areas lacked these characteristics.
We are also already starting to see some early change in the trees up here, so we may be in for an earlier than usual foliage season, and consequent leaf drop one would presume. Trees that are stressed from drought often conserve resources, hence perhaps the reason for some of them starting to change color already. An early leaf drop will make for better shooting opportunities for hunters, so maybe the drought we've endured isn't all bad.
We are also already starting to see some early change in the trees up here, so we may be in for an earlier than usual foliage season, and consequent leaf drop one would presume. Trees that are stressed from drought often conserve resources, hence perhaps the reason for some of them starting to change color already. An early leaf drop will make for better shooting opportunities for hunters, so maybe the drought we've endured isn't all bad.
